This book was written by Lionel Dahmer, the father of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. It isn't often that I have ran across books written by members of the family of the serial killer. I got this book on loan from my local library, because I didn't want to pay the asking price on Amazon. I learned about this book from a podcast that I listen to. (The Last Podcast On The Left, and if you do an internet search, there is a wordpress page with a list of all the books they mention on their shows. My goal is to read through that list.) It was a really good book, and interesting to read about the events of Jeffrey's life and murders from his actual parent. I cannot imagine having to reconcile my child with such horrific headlines and evidence. Highly recommend. 

 Jane Toppan was born in 1854 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her birth name was Honora Kelley, the daughter of Irish parents. (Her mother died from TB and her father was an alcoholic.) She was placed into an orphanage after the death of her mother, and her name was changed once she was placed with a family. She went to Cambridge Hospital when she was around thirty to study to be a nurse. By all accounts, her patients really enjoyed her and gave her the nickname Jolly Jane. It is also reported that she would falsify records or give medications to patients she liked to make them appear more ill to keep them around longer. She also used them as experiments, learning the effects of various drugs on the human body. She is suspected to be the perpetrator of around 100 murders, though she confessed to 31, and only 12 of those were proven. She used various methods of poison as her medium. She admitted that part of the reason she killed was for a sexual thrill, and admitted to touching her victims in sexual ways after they had died/as they were dying. She was a real character....

Harold Schechter is one of my favorite true crime writers, as I have stated on other book reviews for this author. I ordered this book because I knew I would like it, and I was right. I do not often read or listen to things about female serial killers, so this was of particular interest to me. I probably should have not read it while in the hospital surrounded by nurses, but, lucky for me, none of mine were murderous or crazy. I am always happy to strongly recommend any book by this author, so if you are interested in true crime, give this one a chance and check out his other books! 

 This collection of stories has really improved from the first ones. Maybe it is because the forensics have advanced, so the stories are a little more modern. It's pathetic that these same types of crimes happen year after year. I do enjoy this author's ability to communicate legal jargon and forensic jargon in a way that pretty much everyone can understand. This was a pretty interesting book. 

 This book covers the events that took place on November 21, 1980 in Massachusetts. Off the coast of Massachusetts, there are several well known fishing grounds for various types of fish, but especially lobster. As most of us know, Massachusetts and Maine are quite known for lobster and seafood fishing and eating. There were several ships and small boats at sea on this particular day, all of which had checked the weather reports before putting out. Two of the ships, Sea Fever and Fair Wind, went out on a prolonged fishing trip. They checked the weather and went to work, not realizing that the National Weather Service was neglectful in maintaining their weather instruments and tracking the storm. By the time that the storm and its path were discovered, the ships were battling hurricane force winds and at least sixty feet swells. Those conditions are absolutely devastating for a small lobster fishing boat. I won't ruin the story by saying what happened to any of the crew members or ships, but what they endured was nothing short of remarkable and harrowing. I am, however, pleased to report that the National Weather Service was found liable for some of this mess, as they should have been!!

Whew, I thought I was finally getting caught up on reviews that I was behind on, but I had surgery this week and got even more behind. I found this book on Audible Plus, and it was about a four hour listen. I have finally listened to almost all of the ones that I have bought, so I went through the catalogue to see if there was anything worth borrowing, and there was! I had not heard about these ships and their crew members, so this was certainly worth the time it took for me to listen. Plus, it passed some of my recovery time where I was awake with not a soul to talk to. This author has a few books about sea disasters, and they are always action packed but informative. (One especially neat thing that I learned was that the captain of the Sea Fever was the son of the owner of the Andrea Gail, which is immortalized in the movie Perfect Storm.) I really appreciate the level of research that this author puts into his work, and I really do enjoy learning about the people he writes about. The book and the hardships that were mentioned also gave me a newfound appreciation for the people who catch my crabs and lobsters that I very much enjoy eating. I never really considered how difficult of a job that was, or how dangerous. The only real complaint that I have is that the audio version did not come with pictures. I would have liked to have had a map and pictures of the crew in this book, simply for reference. I had to do some Google searching to figure out what these ships looked like, who the crew was, and where the ships were stricken. (I have to say that I love a picture book, haha.) This book was really quite good, and I plan to add a couple of his other books to my to read list. If you are interested in disasters at sea/sea storms, this is an author that you should really look into. 

 This book was just sad. I identify so much with the struggles with weight and food, and I know how consuming that is. Judith Moore went through so much, from her abusive mother to her genetic predisposition to obesity. She really had such a negative view of herself, and I sympathize and empathize with her on those feelings. I feel that this book was very honest and raw. I appreciate her courage in sharing her struggles, and I hope that someone finds this book who needs to know that it is possible to overcome a negative self image and find happiness in life. 

 This is about typhus and the creation of the first typhus vaccine. The scientists also vaccinated Jewish people to keep them from getting it in the ghetto and camps, and also employed people that would otherwise be deported. This was a really interesting book. I wanted it for the value of my World War II collection, but the science was very interesting. I enjoyed this so much. 

 I have the book, (Operation Family Secrets: How a Mobster's Son and the FBI Brought Down Chicago's Murderous Crime Family), written by Frank Calabrese, which is the son who turned into an informant against his father. Frank detailed the inner workings of his specific crime family- from how the induction ceremony was conducted, how crimes were committed, to who committed murders. This book was about the same case, though it offered a broader view of the events surrounding the case and trial. I usually really enjoy reading books about the same topic from multiple perspectives, and this one was no different. This was a really good Mafia book, and I have read a lot of Mafia books. I would certainly suggest picking this one up if you are interested in organized crime, especially the organized crime in Chicago. 

 This is the story of David and Louise Turpin, who were real pieces of work in their own right. I remember seeing this hit the news, but I had never delved into the case. These two had a strange relationship from the start, and then claimed they were called by God to have a bunch of kids. They wound up having thirteen children, all named something with a J. They didn't let these kids go out, have an education, only let them shower once a year, chained them to their beds, starved them, beat them, and only let them have one set of clothes. Meanwhile, they were racking up debt and filing for bankruptcy left and right, buying toys and clothes that remined in packages and with the tags still on. I cannot imagine treating my children in this manner. I am glad that the one sibling was brave enough to get out and get help for everyone. I hope they are doing well in their new lives. This was an interesting, mind blowing book. 

 This book discusses Aristotle Onassis and his romantic interests. He certainly was involved in some relationships with some really famous people. I think most people are interested in his relationship with Jackie Kennedy, and this book does a great job of saying how amazing their relationship was and how perfect they were for each other. I do not buy all of that positivity. I was bored almost to tears by this book. I am sure there is a better, more accurate and honest book about Onassis and this topic somewhere out there. I would be interested to read that, but I would not recommend wasting your time on this one. 

 I do not often give books five stars, but this one deserved it. This was a very comprehensive play by play of the events on September 11, 2001, mixed with terribly personal stories of some of those involved. The research that was conducted to write this book was especially well done. I learned a lot of facts that I had never known before reading this book, despite the fact that I have watched countless documentaries and footage from that day. I have read at least ten books on this subject. Above all, I watched this live on television while sitting in 8th Grade United States History class. When I got home, I was absolutely glued to the news for the rest of the night. I cannot believe how many facts I missed about this event. My sister got this book on Audible and was talking to me about it, and I realized I had the physical copy that I bought a couple of years ago. I started it yesterday, and spent all day finishing it. I had no idea that today was September 10. As of tomorrow, this horrible event will have taken place twenty one years ago. That is insane for me to think about. I cannot imagine how people that had connections to these people that died and survived still feel on these anniversaries. This book was absolutely worth the obsessive reading marathon I did to finish it. Deeply moving and informative.